Chapter 296: Close

As we walked along, the flesh-colored worms without shells were startled by us and dove into the water one after another, disappearing without a trace.

Fatty bent down and reached into the water, trying to catch a few, but I stopped him. The underwater situation was unclear; too much disturbance might bring trouble, so it was best not to stir things up if we could help it. Moreover, I had never seen these worms before—they might be some special species found only here, worth a fortune. It would be a shame if he killed a few.

Fatty cursed, "Look at them, packed tight like this! I figure there must be at least ten thousand, if not eighty thousand, in this water. What's the harm in catching a few to take back? This trip has basically been a waste anyway. You won't even let me have a souvenir to remember it by."

I said, "These slimy things are disgusting just to look at. How can you bring yourself to touch them? Don't dwell on these crooked schemes. Let's just hurry up and move on."

With so many worms around, no one wanted to rest, so we had to keep following this water channel deeper to find the underground reservoir lake at the end. The current here was steady, and there was no loud sound of water ahead, indicating no major cliffs, so we could proceed calmly.

We continued forward, and the deeper we went, the colder the water became. We could feel a chill spreading through the water, giving us goosebumps. On both sides of the channel, we saw countless flesh-colored worms, most of them clinging to the rock walls around the waterline, packed densely, making my scalp tingle. There were even more in the water, and I could sometimes feel things bumping against my feet.

The channel grew wider and the ceiling higher, opening up like a trumpet shape. I knew we were almost there, so I quickened my pace. After walking less than a hundred meters, the ceiling darkened above us, and we emerged from the channel. The space around suddenly became airy with echoes; by feeling alone I knew we had arrived at a large area. A shallow stretch of beach extended ahead, and as the beam of the miner's lamp swept across, I saw a vast, calm expanse of water.

The miner's lamps had low and high beam options. To save power, we usually used low beam, which could last over 180 hours, but its range was only about twenty meters. Now low beam was clearly insufficient, so we all switched to high beam, using LED bulbs with a hundred-meter range, to illuminate the ceiling and surroundings.

Under the bright light, the general appearance of the place was revealed. It was a huge underground water cavern, not a karst landform, but a volcanic rock cave. In the distance, deep within the cave, giant stone pillars hanging from the ceiling plunged into the lake like the massive columns of a temple. The ceiling was only two or three stories high, and the whole place felt like the hall of the Temple of Poseidon submerged in the sea—the atmosphere was incredibly vivid. One had to admit it was a masterpiece of nature.

On either side of the channel's exit were giant rock walls displaying the distinctive features of volcanic rock, with stratification appearing, indicating we had passed through the sand and soil layers and reached the underground mountain range deep in the Gobi geology. These rock walls were likely part of the Kunlun Mountains extending deep underground.

Looking back at the water channel's opening, it seemed artificially excavated. That the Queen Mother of the West's people could dig so deep in that era showed their civilization possessed extremely advanced engineering capabilities.

This should be the core of the entire underground water system of the Queen Mother of the West ancient city—a natural small underground lake. Due to the limited range of the miner's lamps, we couldn't tell how big this reservoir lake was or how deep its center was. Maybe if we walked toward the center, the lake bottom could reach depths beyond our imagination. But not seeing the open surface made it hard to feel overwhelmed. After observing for a while, Fatty asked what we should do next.

There was no new approach; we still had to look for Poker-face's marks. The previous marks had pointed here, and ahead was the center of the underground lake. The guiding marks couldn't be carved underwater, so I figured they should be on these stone pillars.

We split up to search, wading deeper into the lake and shining our lights on the pillars.

After a few steps, I noticed the lake's depth didn't change much. Occasionally it dropped to chest level, but then rose again after a few steps. Obviously the bottom was uneven, but the average depth didn't vary much. Soon Black Blind whistled. We went over and found that on one stone pillar there was indeed a clear mark, carved neatly.

Wenjin looked at Poker-face and asked, "The water here is basically level, with no sign of going deeper. I think this is the lowest point of the entire water system. The place we're looking for must be ahead. We've come this far—can't you remember anything yet?"

Poker-face shook his head without speaking, just staring at the marks he had carved, his eyes showing no ripple of emotion.

Fatty said that the Queen Mother of the West ancient city could be described as located in a hidden realm. In its heyday, this oasis was surrounded by lake waters, with countless Devil's City formations forming a protective layer outside. The oasis itself was perpetually shrouded in heavy fog, visible only during heavy rain. The residents of the Queen Mother's City worshipped cruel serpent cults and mysticism, making this desert regime as elusive as a ghost. And the labyrinthine water system beneath the city was incredibly complex. We had nearly exhausted all our energy to reach the lowest level of this defensive project. If the Queen Mother of the West had anything to hide, this should be the place. Without further ado, following these marks should lead us to our destination.

I felt a bit uneasy. The latter part of our journey had been almost too smooth. The sculptures of human-faced monstrous birds we saw in the water channel bothered me. By now, we could be certain that the totem of the human-faced bird was a warning from the ancient people of the Queen Mother of the West's kingdom to outsiders. As we went deeper from the outer canyon, each time we saw it, the strange events became more sinister. Seeing the totem again here meant that this reservoir lake surely wouldn't be a peaceful place. We were all so exhausted we were barely hanging on. If something went wrong, none of us might escape this time.

I asked Wenjin, "What's the plan next? Should we rest first, or send someone to scout ahead?"

Wenjin said, "Now that we're here, as this fatty said, I have no reason to back down or give up. This is the path I'm destined to walk. But not everyone needs to go. I don't know what's ahead. You all rest here; I'll go alone. If I'm not back in two hours, you can search along the lake shore for another exit and find a way out—whatever you do, don't come after me."

Poker-face said calmly from the side, "I'm going too." He didn't even look at us, just stared into the darkness deep in the lake, as if completely unconcerned about any danger.

I thought it over: I had to go too. Not just because of the slim chance of getting out if I stayed—the way back was already sealed off. I had endured countless hardships to get here—wasn't this the moment I'd been waiting for? Besides, given my constitution, many people had sacrificed for me to reach this place, including Panzi, whose fate was unknown, and A Ning, who died in vain. If I still chickened out, I never should have come in the first place. Since I had chosen to come, I should see it through.

Fatty grinned, "Damn, you guys are forcing me to go too, aren't you? I'd rather be with you lot than with these rookies—it's safer."

With that, Third Uncle's men also insisted on coming. They really lacked experience, fine for petty theft, but they definitely didn't want to stay behind. They were afraid we'd form a clique and slip away without them, so they were determined to follow. The leader, a guy named "Mop," said, "Don't even think about it. Either leave one of us behind, or we all go together. Don't try to shake us off."

Black Blind had been silent all along, wearing a half-smile. Seeing this, he came over and put his arm around my shoulder—unclear what that meant. Maybe he was joining, or maybe telling me to stay.

I found that bunch disgusting. They were nothing but dead weight, and if they followed us, who knew what trouble they'd cause. We'd have to watch our backs around them. If I stayed, they'd probably torment me to death.

Fatty said, "Little Wu, you should just forget it. You've still got a bright future ahead. Stick with these old-timers, and you might survive. Didn't your Third Uncle say this was a one-way road? Let me accompany Sis and the young master on this trip—at least someone will be around to burn incense for us next year."

I cursed, "Don't give me that. At this point, one way or another, it's all the same. I'm going, no question." I meant it. At this stage, who could be sure they'd make it out? Maybe the path we came from was the only way, and this was just a completely sealed water cave deep in the underground rock mountains, trapping us here forever. That might not be so bad—it would let all these mysteries come to a full stop here.

Thinking of that, I teased Fatty instead, patting his shoulder: "As for you, if something happens to you, your wife and mistress back home will be fighting tooth and nail over your hidden treasures. You'd be better off staying."

Fatty said, "Your fatty here is famous as the gold-spending playboy of Liangmaqiao, passing through a garden of flowers without leaving a trace of red, never keeping silver in my pocket overnight, not recognizing the women I've slept with the next day. What wife and mistress? Counting it up, I've loved countless women in my life and spent enough money to make it worthwhile. Few people have lived half as carefree as your fatty. If I'm unlucky this time, I've had my fill." I replied, "So you're the most suited to be buried with someone else—no attachments."

Fatty said, "That's not quite right. Going to die with someone depends on who it is. The people here are a real fateful bunch. If you're going, for your sake I have to protect you." He racked his gun, then asked the men for bullets, saying, "You milksops, let me hold the bullets—they'll save lives in my hands, otherwise they'll go to waste."

I spat, then saw Wenjin draw her dagger, toss her hair, and test the blade. She said to me, "Enough, no more joking. Since we're all going, let's hurry up."

With that decided, we didn't hesitate. We each took a few sips of strong liquor, spread out the formation, and began wading in the direction of Poker-face's marks. Maybe because there were more of us, facing the deep darkness ahead, I didn't feel particularly scared—just an indescribable unease in my heart.

After that came a stretch with almost no conversation. We split into a few people, each watching one direction around the team, paying special attention to ripples on the water. The only sound in our ears was the splashing of our footsteps. This stretch was neither fast nor slow, gradually moving away from the entrance we came from.

Fortunately, the water here was incredibly clear. Shining our mining lamps straight down, we could clearly see that under the water there was only uneven gravel, nothing special. Sweeping across the water surface also gave a rough view of the underwater conditions.

Thinking of everything that had happened, we dared not let our guard down even a little. However, as I looked at the water around us, I sensed something strange that bothered me greatly.

After walking for a while, Wenjin pointed out, "There aren't any of those bugs here."

Fatty nodded and said, "Maybe it's because of the water temperature. This water is damn cold. Speaking of which, a large part of this water might have been stored here since this cave was formed—expired for tens of thousands of years. Everyone, don't drink it; you might get diarrhea."

I said, "This kind of water is called 'old water.' It's naturally settled and rich in minerals. Could it be that this water contains toxic minerals, so those bugs don't dare swim in?"

Fatty clicked his tongue and said, "No way? No wonder I feel a bit itchy in my butt. Do any of you feel anything special?"

No one replied. Poker-face, walking at the front, turned back to glance at us, so we had to shut up. At this point, discussing this was completely meaningless. Black Blind, who was bringing up the rear, just laughed. These two—one black, one white; one with a cold face, one with a silly grin—were just like the Black and White Impermanence, leaving us speechless.

Continuing on, we delved deeper into the reservoir lake. Shining our flashlights around, there was only calm water. The lake showed no signs of deepening, but we began to see black patches the size of half a basketball court appearing underwater. This indicated that deep pits with large undulations were starting to appear on the lakebed. Each black patch was extremely deep, and our mining lamps couldn't reach the bottom, as if something was connected below.

These black patches appeared every now and then, irregular in shape. The bottom was covered in fine gravel, and these holes looked like they had been dug out by something. We began to feel uneasy and tried our best to avoid these deep pits.

Walking like this, we soon found the second stone pillar with markings.

The group stopped to rest. Someone sneezed. The water here was really cold, but I knew that wasn't the worst part. The water was still above freezing, within the tolerable range, so no one complained much.

That marking pointed in a different direction. Moreover, the symbol was different, as if its meaning had changed.

Wenjin looked at Poker-face, but before she could ask, Poker-face answered, "This is the last one. We're almost there."

The last one—it should mean the last marking. This indicated that the next stop was the destination.

Our hearts trembled. Someone behind us instinctively raised their gun. Without another word, we immediately set off following the markings. I didn't know how I felt—excited, scared, sensing an ominous atmosphere, and also a kind of tension that comes when something is imminent.

But just as we walked two or three steps past the pillar, I felt a sharp pain under my foot, stepping on something unknown.

When I was a child in Changsha, I often swam in streams with Third Uncle, so by the feeling on my sole, I immediately knew it was cut, and quite badly.

I immediately stopped and asked Fatty to shine a light for me, lifting my foot to look. Fatty's lamp swept across the water and illuminated my foot. I saw a big cut on my heel—obviously something sharp underwater. I bent down to look, and upon doing so, I discovered something unusual about the bottom here.